Stephen Zunes : Nonviolent Action
Globalising Nonviolence: Nonviolence against Apartheid – a case study of “globalisation from below”
1 January 2006
While many Western governments argued that the benevolent influence of Western capital would gradually force an end to South Africa’s apartheid system and many on the left argued that liberation would come only through armed revolution, in fact it was largely unarmed resistance by the black majority and its supporters, both within South Africa and abroad.
Why Progressives Must Embrace the Ukrainian Pro-Democracy Movement
8 September 2005
Some elements of the American left have committed a grievous error, both morally and strategically, in their failure to enthusiastically support the momentous pro-democracy movement in the Ukraine. After more than three centuries of subjugation under Russian rule?first under the czars and then under the communists?followed by a dozen years of independence under corrupt and […]
The United States and “Regime Change” in Iran
6 August 2005
Though the Bush administration has repeatedly emphasized its desire for democratization and regime change in Iran, there are serious questions regarding how it might try to bring this about. There is, however, little question about the goal of toppling the Islamist government, with the Bush administration threatening war, arming ethnic minorities, and funding opposition groups.
HOW THE HAWK KILLS THE DOVE
5 August 2005
In a country wracked with violence, more than 100,000 Iraqis marched peacefully through the streets of Baghdad on 19 January 2004 demanding direct elections. Shouting ‘No to Saddam!’ and ‘No to America’, the nonviolent throng – many of them linking hands – marched for three miles to the University of al-Mustansariyah where speakers called for […]
Recognizing the Power of Nonviolent Action
31 March 2005
You probably didn’t notice, but February 20 was Nonviolent Resistance Day. One might think this would be cause for celebration by an administration committed to expanding freedom and democracy. But there weren’t any special ceremonies at the White House or resolutions in Congress. For despite all the rhetoric lauding freedom and democracy, the U.S. government has rarely supported, and has often opposed, nonviolent movements working for democratic change.
Nonviolent Resistance in the Islamic World
3 January 2002
The tragic events of recent months have only strengthened the stereotype here in the United States of the Islamic world as an area of violent conflict. However, the region also has an impressive and growing tradition of nonviolent resistance and other unarmed challenges to authoritarianism.
Credit the Serbian People, Not NATO
1 October 2000
The people of Yugoslavia did what NATO bombs could not. As in 1989, it was not the military prowess of the western alliance bringing freedom to an Eastern European country, but the power of nonviolent action by the subjugated peoples themselves.
East Timor’s Tragedy and Triumph
1 January 2000
East Timor is largely in ruins as a result of the Indonesian-led destruction and massacres of September 1999. Yet the East Timorese are finally free. That such carnage was allowed to take place is yet another indictment of U.S. foreign policy in Southeast Asia, yet the ultimate victory of the population of East Timor is a triumphant reflection of the power of ordinary people—in both East Timor and around the world—to triumph against enormous odds….
Nonviolent Action and Human Rights
20 October 1999
Nonviolent action campaigns have been a part of political life for millennia. History records many instances of groups rising to challenge abuses by authorities, demand social reforms, and protest militarism and discrimination. In recent years, however, the number of such movements has increased, as has their success in advancing the cause of human rights and toppling or dramatically reforming repressive regimes. In the twentieth century, nonviolence became more of a deliberate tool for social change, moving from being largely an ad hoc strategy growing naturally out of religious or ethical principles to a reflective and, in many ways, institutionalized method of struggle.
The Role of Non-Violent Action in the Downfall of Apartheid
1 March 1999
Against enormous odds, non-violent action proved to be a major factor in the downfall of apartheid in South Africa, and the establishment of a democratic black majority government, despite predictions that the transition could come only through a violent revolutionary cataclysm. This was largely the result of conditions working against a successful armed overthrow of the system, combined with the ability of the anti-apartheid opposition to take advantage of the system’s economic dependence on a cooperative black labour force. This article traces the history of nonviolent resistance to apartheid, its initial failures, and the return in the 1980s to a largely non-violent strategy which, together with international sanctions, forced the government to negotiate a peaceful transfer to majority rule.
